Airshow monitoring strategies.

[junior_1967]

Hi All,

I will be attending a couple of airshows this year and I was contemplating my options.
I should mention that I'm using the radios to give me a heads up while taking pictures, so the flying part is more important

I am picking up a BR330T this monday to complement my BCD396XT and my older but still capable pro-97.

In the past, I had only the PRO-97 so the choice was simple.
Program the thing using Monitoring Times pdf and info on the web and hope for the best.

I'm now looking at the best and easiest way to use multiple radios while take pictures.
Should I have 1 on the airboss and 1 on the "flying show"? or should 1 be on the solos and another on the formations? I would like to minimize the manipulation of radios.....

I guess I am looking at what others are doing...


Thanks for the inputs/comments

Cheers,
Junior

 

[trap5858]

I only take one scanner with me. I usually set up the banks based on who is flying and what I want to listen to. I usually put the air boss/tower into one bank and set it as priority. Then if lets say the Blue Angels are headling the show, I set up a bank just for them and scan them and the air boss. Since it is rare than more than one act is going on at a time this is a simple way to keep things organized and allow you to click the camera and enjoy the show.

 

[drdispatch]

I only take one scanner as well, & I set it up similar to what trap5858 indicated: One bank for the usual local Law/Fire/EMS; one for event "ground ops" - security, medical, etc; one for "normal" airport frequencies - tower, ground control, approach/departure; one for the "headline act" - T-Birds, Angels, etc; and one for the other airshow acts & the airboss. I have found that this works well, since I can turn banks on or off as needed, so I don't have to lock out individual channels or scan a lot of stuff that detracts from what I want to concentrate on. Have used this basic setup since the 80's.